MOTORCYCLE ADVISORY COMMITTEE RECONVENES
The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) is pleased to announce that the
Federal
Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Motorcycle Advisory Committee (MAC) held
its second
meeting in Washington DC recently. As outlined in the legislation that
the MRF was
instrumental in developing and passing through Congress, the MAC's purpose
is to
provide advice to the Secretary of Transportation, through the FHWA, on all
infrastructure issues and how they affect motorcycles. The Council is
comprised of
10 individuals representing all different facets of the motorcycling
community
including the MRF, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), The National
Association of State Motorcycle Safety Administrators (SMSA), State
Department of
Transportation (DOT) officials and "road furniture" safety engineers. "Road
furniture" refers to anything on the road other than the actual road – so
signage,
guard rails, bridges, light posts, striping, lane markers, etc. would be
considered
"road furniture." The best part is that ALL of the MAC members must be
riders. MAC
covered a lot of ground over the two-day meeting, and all of the meeting
minutes,
recommendations and action items will be available soon on the MAC website at
http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/mac/index.htm
A lot of the meeting was spent on retro-reflectivity of pavement markings,
which is
essentially the brightness of the markings when headlights light them up.
Apparently with materials currently used for pavement markings, when you
increase
slip resistance you decrease the level of retro-reflectivity. This
fundamental issue
puts motorcycling directly at odds with pavement markings the way they are
thought
of today. In the safety community brighter is better, and very little
thought has
gone into slip resistance except with pedestrian markings. For years,
both public
and private highway designers have forgotten to consider the small
signature of
two-wheeled vehicles. MAC was designed to change that mentality, and as a
MAC
member who has attended both meetings on your behalf, I can tell you with
every
confidence that is about to change.
Another issue discussed a lot was the cable barriers across the country
that are
commonly referred to as "bologna slicers" or "cheese slicers." I have to
tell you
that the state DOT folks and safety engineers do not agree with
motorcyclists on
this one. Obviously all types of barriers are bad, and when roadside
departure
occurs, things go from bad to worse in a fraction of second. Anything you
strike
with your bike, car or body is going to be a serious factor in the crash.
Other
potential hazards include signposts, telephone and utility poles, fire
hydrants, or
anything else commonly found occupying space on the side of the road.
According to
the engineers, there is no proof that concrete barriers are less deadly
than cable
barriers; in fact, they claim that the opposite is true. With the use of
cable
barriers in the state of Texas last year, they went from 54 deaths from
vehicles
crossing the median or double yellow line down to 2. With results like that,
motorcyclists will have a tough time declaring cable barriers unsafe at
any speed.
Cable barriers came from Europe, like a lot of things these days, and are
undergoing
many safety upgrades across the pond. Retrofitting wood, plastic and/or
nylon to
the cable barriers may decrease the chances of the rider being, for lack
of a more
glamorous term, sliced in half.
The MRF and its SMRO partners envisioned and helped create this Motorcycle
Advisory
Committee to bring the issues and concerns of motorcyclists to the people
who design
the roads we use. As you can see, the MAC is accomplishing exactly that
goal.
Correction. Last weeks Leaders Report contained a blurb on the quarterly
motorcycle
safety meeting hosted by NHTSA in their DC office. The network meetings
are held for
members to share ideas they have and activities they are planning to make
motorcycling safer and to coordinate activities where appropriate. Not to
just
update the motorcycle community on NHTSA initiatives.
Ride Free and Ride Often
Jeff Hennie
Ride With The LeadersTM by joining the MRF at http://www.mrf.org/join.php
or call 1-202-546-0983
(c)All Information contained in this release is copyrighted. Reproduction
permitted with attribution. The Motorcycle Riders Foundation, incorporated
in 1987, is a membership-based, national motorcyclists' rights
organization headquartered in Washington, DC. The first motorcyclists'
rights organization to establish a full-time presence in Washington, DC,
the Motorcycle Riders Foundation is the only Washington voice devoted
exclusively to the street rider. The MRF established MRFPAC in the early
1990s to advocate the election of candidates who would champion the cause
of rider safety and rider freedom.
The MRF proudly claims state motorcyclists' rights organizations and the
very founders of the American riders' rights movement among its leading
members. The MRF is involved in federal and state legislation and
regulations, motorcycling safety education, training, and public
awareness. The MRF provides members and state motorcyclists' rights
organizations with direction and information, and sponsors annual regional
and national educational seminars for motorcyclists rights activists, as
well as publishing a bi-monthly newsletter, THE MRF REPORTS.
